Conducting Phenomenological Research: One Researcher's Experience Exploring the Meaning of the Psychotherapy Room

Background and Purpose: There is currently no consensus on how to employ the phenomenological method in the social sciences.  As of now, several different procedures are recommended, some at odds with each other. The lack of standardization and vague explanations in many phenomenology studies as to how the data analysis was conducted can be confusing for students looking to explore this method. 

This paper attempts to provide some transparency by revealing in detail how this author employed the phenomenological method as described by Wertz and Giorgi in her dissertation research on the meaning of the psychotherapy office from the perspective of psychotherapy clients.  Specifically this paper highlights the techniques of identifying and reflecting on meaning units, writing individual structures for each participant, and identifying the essentials of the experience of the psychotherapy room.  

Methods: Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals who were currently attending individual psychotherapy treatment in private practice settings.  Participants were all female and primarily white.  Participants were recruited via local community listserves.  Interviews focused on the experiences of psychotherapy offices with the purpose of providing a general structure of the experience of the psychotherapy office.  Interviews were all transcribed verbatim and then analyzed according to the recommendations of Giorgi and Wertz which emphasize the use of meaning units and imaginative variation to identify essential components of a phenomenon. 

Findings: Analysis of interviews identified four main themes in regards to client perception of psychotherapy offices: (1) comfort and safety, (2) insight into the clinician, (3) engagement, connection and relationship, and (4) object-based assumptions and associations. These results highlight the potential importance of the physical environment in psychotherapy treatment, particularly in the room’s perceived ability to influence relationships.

Conclusion and Implications: Phenomenology is complex.  Yet it provides a way to explore phenomena in depth. This paper hopes to bring transparency to one way of conducting this important method of research by providing concrete examples of how this method was employed in this project. 

Of note, the lack of diversity represented in the sample recruited emerged as a major limitation in a study seeking to uncover essentials.  One participant in particular commented on the need for culturally sensitive office environments and the potential variation of meanings room design and décor may have for different populations. The recruiting methods focused on neighborhood listserves may have contributed to this limitation.  Future studies in this area may want to consider actively seeking input from more diverse populations and locations.